Posted on by B Spokes

Tax per mile driven

from TheWashCycle by washcycle

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A true user fee for roads would charge a fee per mile driven
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Anyway, to tie this in again, road lobbyists and supporters love to blame money spent on biking and transit as the cause for the shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund. But it’s clear, looking at this chart, that the cause is the reduction in the tax per mile driven that results from inflation and greater automobile efficiency and the unwillingness of Congress to raise the tax to adjust to that. If we had a tax of 11 cents per mile driven  (as is the historical average) there would be plenty for roads.  And we wouldn’t need to worry about higher CAFE standards reducing the trust fund.

Gasoline tax



https://www.thewashcycle.com/2011/08/tax-per-mile-driven.htmloldId.20110807234922137

One Reply to “Tax per mile driven”

  1. VMT tax is a good idea, but not yet ready for ideal implementation. Replacing the gas tax with a straight per-mile tax would further externalize the excess costs of driving large vehicles and driving in heavy traffic for trips where there are readily available option. If hybrids pay the same user fee for roads as oversized SUVs and pickup trucks, we remove an incentive for people to make responsible choices about the vehicle they use when they do drive. Cyclists, pedestrians, and breathers of air need all the disincentives to people driving SUVs and monster pickup trucks we can get. Also, there needs to be a congestion pricing element. A person driving a car 500 miles at 55 mph on uncongested roads to visit a national park or their grandmother in a small town that isn’t served by intercity transit is not costing society the same amount per mile as a commuter driving 50 miles round trip/day on heavily congested roads when they could easily make that same work trip more efficiently by riding transit, biking, carpooling, or living closer to their job. VMT tax needs to be implemented carefully to be sure that as well as funding the transportation trust fund, it also encourages efficient transportation choices or at the very least doesn’t remove current (mild) disincentives to irresponsible travel behavior.

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